If you are anything like me right now, you are more stressed than usual over the recent election as well as everything else plaguing us in 2020. It is a very odd time filled with uncertainty for most people. No matter how your presidential or congressional candidates fared, if you are not focused on God’s long-term plan for our world and for your life, there is a good chance you are anxious and fearful right now.
If that sounds like you – anxious and fearful – then today’s lesson is for you. We’re going to discuss a man who genuinely had reason to be fearful and anxious and then we’ll talk about why that was part of God’s plan to ultimately conquer sin and death. The goal of today’s lesson is to help each of us take a step back and focus on God’s long-term plan for our lives and how He sometimes allows extreme challenges in order to prepare us to make a major positive impacts in the future.
Most of you have heard the story of Joseph who was the youngest son of Jacob. For perspective, starting with Abraham, the lineage of Jesus proceeds through Isaac, Jacob, and Judah who was one of Joseph’s brothers. Joseph was an incredibly annoying teenager whose brothers hated him so much that they actually sold him to traveling merchants who were passing by and then told Jacob that he was eaten by a wild animal.
Today’s lesson is a summary of Genesis 37-46 so go check out those chapters if you want to know more. For now, two things are worth highlighting:
- Joseph went from being the favored son of Jacob and living a very comfortable lifestyle, to being sold into slavery, and
- If Joseph had not been sold into slavery, it is very possible that the Israelites would have perished from starvation and the lineage of Jesus would have been wiped out.
Again, this is a super-high-level summary but, over the course of many years in Egypt, Joseph gained the trust of Pharaoh and ended up interpreting his dreams including the “seven years of feast and seven years of famine” dream. God allowed Joseph to correctly interpret this dream which allowed the Egyptians to prepare for famine by storing up grain. Joseph, who wasn’t an Egyptian, ended up being the administrative head of the country – what we would think of today as a Prime Minister.
Sometime into the famine, Jacob sent his sons to buy grain from Egypt which allowed them to avoid starvation. In the end, it all turned out well and the Israelites survived, but Joseph had to suffer for many years in order for God’s ultimate plan to be realized.
Does that mean God wants to suffer? Of course not. He wants us to prosper but He knows that we have to be challenged and stretched in order to grow. There is a lot more to unpack regarding the idea that God allows us to face difficult times in order to ultimately prosper us but, for now, my hope is that no matter what fears or anxieties you face today, this lesson will give you some perspective and some peace. You might just be in the middle of your own Joseph story and God may be preparing you for something great.
Here are some questions for discussion:
- Is your level of fear and anxiety higher than normal right now? If so, is this primarily caused by the election?
- In thinking about the primary source of your fears and anxieties, how much of the ultimate outcome can you personally control?
- How do you feel about the idea that God allows us to face extreme challenges in order to prepare us for growth and positive outcomes?
- Is your answer to #3 in any way similar to your parenting style – in other words, do you allow your kids to be challenged, with the hope that they will grow and improve?
- Are there any sports analogies you can think of that might help explain today’s lesson in simple terms?
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